Four (Possibly Five) Months Into The Regimen

I have decided to post another update on my skin because of the results I have been receiving lately. During October-November I started getting lazy with my routine and boy, did I pay for it. By "getting lazy" I mean that when I cleansed my face I didn't do it gently anymore and I scrubbed for about 20-30 seconds instead of the recommended 10. I also barely used my benzoyl peroxide except for a spot treatment (so I only dabbed it where I felt I needed it to avoid the redness that always comes with it), and when I moisturized, I rubbed it in so it would absorb faster and I was using quite a lot of it. How did I "pay for it" then? I started breaking out. BAD. Especially when it came to that time of the month. I barely wanted to show my face anywhere. My face was a constellation of pimples and I was not happy. So the end of November into December I decided enough is enough. I started fresh and did everything precisely as recommended and oh my lord, was there a HUGE difference. My face is now back to being literally clear. Almost all of my blackheads are gone from my nose and forehead, there's no huge pimples in sight, and the complexion of my skin is very healthy along with my skin tone being relatively all the same color.

Here's a little tip for you: DO NOT SLACK LIKE ME. It was the worst thing ever. I actually felt like The Regimen was just another routine that wasn't going to work but I found out I was bringing the break outs on all by myself. Don't give up. It really does work.

Another tip: The flakiness is quite annoying, so when your face is wet from the shower, you'll see where your flaky patches are because your skin will look really odd in those spots. Very softly, run your nails across the skin and take all of that gross dead skin off. Then cleanse and run water over it to get any left over gunk off. I'm not sure if you should do this if you have really sensitive skin. But since I do not, I have found that it takes my current flakes away and your skin will feel much better. You might think "Oh what about irritation. Aren't you supposed to not touch and pick at your face???" Well I don't do this very often, and so far my face has not broken out by doing this, it's just a possible thing for you to do if the flakes irk you as much as they irk me.

One last tip: Many people will argue against me with this, but I honestly do think that what you eat and drink affects your skin. Also during October and November I was drinking energy drinks, coffee, soda, tea, more soda, smoothies...Pretty much anything that is completely loaded with sugar and is really not good for you. I was also eating candy almost all the time along with snacks and dessert. Again, my skin was HORRIBLE. Recently I started drinking water every day and in most situations (like me going on break at work) where I would have chosen a bottle of tea or soda, I took the extremely hard road and grabbed a bottle of water. It is quite hard (especially if you're like me and don't like the fact that water has no taste), but it helps. My skin tone is so much better. I have also found that the redness on my face has subsided considerably since I started doing this, and I use less moisturizer because my skin is already pretty hydrated. I do still treat myself to a bad drink once in a while but I make it a point to drink water 98% of the time now and almost always drink two cups every day. When it comes to sweets, I'm not saying to never touch them ever again because like seriously? Who in their right mind could or would do that? I love anything bad for me. I'm just suggesting only treating yourself once in a while.

Again, these are only things that I have found to work for me and I hope that if you try them, they possibly work for you.